勛 (xūn): meritorious deed

Meanings

1 meritorious deed
2 great achievement
3 distinguished service (variant of 勋)

Characters

勛

xūn

merit, distinguished service

Examples

HSK 6

他立下了赫赫战勛。

Tā lì xià le hè hè zhàn xūn.

He achieved tremendous battlefield merit.

HSK 7-9

勛是勋的异体字。

Xūn shì xūn de yì tǐ zì.

勛 is a variant character of 勋.

Tips

history

勛 is a variant form of 勋 (xūn) - "distinguished merit / decoration." The mainland simplifies to 勋, but 勛 survives in Hong Kong, Taiwan, in older mainland texts, and in personal names (Studio Ghibli's Isao Takahata is 高畑勛). Compounds: 勳章/勛章 (medal), 元勳 (founding hero), 功勳 (great deed).

memory

The right element 力 ("strength") is the meaning radical - merit is something earned through strength/effort. The left element 員 (员) supplies the sound. Compare the orthodox form 勳 used in Taiwan, which has the same structure with 熏 on the left.

Components

radical

力 lì

strength; effort

Strength radical on the right - depicts a flexed arm or a digging plough. Carries the meaning of 勛: a meritorious deed, an achievement earned by hard effort, the kind of contribution a court would record in a register. Same effort family includes 功 merit, 努 strive, 励 encourage, 动 move.

phonetic

員 yuán

member; person (here phonetic)

Left side 員 (traditional form of 员) supplies the sound - yuán shifting to xūn, a less obvious phonetic but historically attested in the same Old Chinese group that gives the simplified form 勋 its 云 yún phonetic. The 'member' meaning of 員 plays no semantic role; it's pure sound-lending.